I got a ticket a few weeks ago, I plead not guilty yesterday and it is set for trial. I wonder if anyone has some ideas for me, as far as representing myself in court. I cant see paying a lawyer $500 to plead not guilty on an $80 ticket.
At the intersection of Rice and Maryland St., you cannot make a left turn from 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm. I am very aware of this, I drive 10 blocks out of my way, everyday on my way home from work to avoid making that left turn. On this morning, I came to the intersection and looked at my watch, 6:58am, car clock 6:58am, I turned left. Two blocks down I get pulled over. The officer sits behind me, running my licence plate for a minute or two, then approaches my car. The officer asks "do you know why I pulled you over?" I said "no". Officer "did you know that there is no left turn from 7am to 9am?" I said (looking at my watch that now says 07:00:20)"I know you cant make a turn from 7am to 9am." Officer "I will be right back." About 3 minutes later he came back with a ticket for failing to yield a traffic control device. He wrote the time of the incident as 0702. I left the scene at 0703, my time. Pentalty = $80 fine and it is a moving violation on my perfectly clean driving record!
I check/set my watch every day, I am a sysadmin and have to keep the clocks synched on my servers every day. I use the atomic clock as the correct time. I definetely would not have made that turn during the posted times. It was not yet 7am, so no crime committed.
I plead not guilty to the Hearing Officer yesterday. She said that she would offer me this: Pay the $80 and I will keep the ticket off of your record, as long as there are no other violations in the next year. I told her no, because I did not break the law. She started getting smart with me saying "you will never be able to prove that the officer had the wrong time."
I am accountable for my actions, had I violated the law, I would pay the fine and take the punishment. I did not violate the law.
Your feedback would be appreciated!
At the intersection of Rice and Maryland St., you cannot make a left turn from 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm. I am very aware of this, I drive 10 blocks out of my way, everyday on my way home from work to avoid making that left turn. On this morning, I came to the intersection and looked at my watch, 6:58am, car clock 6:58am, I turned left. Two blocks down I get pulled over. The officer sits behind me, running my licence plate for a minute or two, then approaches my car. The officer asks "do you know why I pulled you over?" I said "no". Officer "did you know that there is no left turn from 7am to 9am?" I said (looking at my watch that now says 07:00:20)"I know you cant make a turn from 7am to 9am." Officer "I will be right back." About 3 minutes later he came back with a ticket for failing to yield a traffic control device. He wrote the time of the incident as 0702. I left the scene at 0703, my time. Pentalty = $80 fine and it is a moving violation on my perfectly clean driving record!
I check/set my watch every day, I am a sysadmin and have to keep the clocks synched on my servers every day. I use the atomic clock as the correct time. I definetely would not have made that turn during the posted times. It was not yet 7am, so no crime committed.
I plead not guilty to the Hearing Officer yesterday. She said that she would offer me this: Pay the $80 and I will keep the ticket off of your record, as long as there are no other violations in the next year. I told her no, because I did not break the law. She started getting smart with me saying "you will never be able to prove that the officer had the wrong time."
I am accountable for my actions, had I violated the law, I would pay the fine and take the punishment. I did not violate the law.
Your feedback would be appreciated!